His Mighty Power to Raise Christ from the Dead

 “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David wrote on the greatness of God, “You are the Lord who reigns over your never-ending kingdom through all the ages of time and eternity! You are faithful to fulfill every promise you’ve made. You manifest yourself as kindness in all you do. Weak and feeble ones you will sustain. Those bent over with burdens of shame you will lift up.”  David lived centuries before the Gospel of grace was revealed yet he had a personal revelation of the greatness of God’s grace because of his relationship with Him.  Even though David was king, he knew that it was God Who ruled Israel through him.  When he made mistakes and fell, David repented and turned to God Who picked him up and raised him.  David recognised that it was only the greatness of God Who raised him up from a shepherd boy to being the king of Israel.  In the new covenant, Paul explains the greatness of God, “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!”  May we never downgrade the greatness of God revealed to us believers through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen!

God’s Love Brings Purpose to Our Existence

 “and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter;”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark recorded, “and have authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons. He appointed his Twelve and gave Simon the nickname Peter the Rock.”  These twelve disciples served God’s Kingdom, became apostles or “sent ones” and the Jesus chose seventy more to preach the Gospel.  None of them were fully mature or equipped for the Holy Spirit had not yet come to empower them.  Disciples are raised that they may walk continuously with Jesus; preaching with the genuine love for others preaching the truth of God’s Word and walking in the power to heal and cast out demons.  Today, this is the same that the Lord Jesus requires from His disciples.   Leaders today need to raise up others and not centre their ministry around themselves. The legacy of a spiritual leader is made up of those whom he or she has released and sent forth to proclaim Christ.  Following Jesus means living out the purpose for which He created each one.  By giving Simon the new name “Peter”, Jesus gave him the purpose of his existence, having a strong, rock-like faith, even though He knew Peter would deny Him later!  Such is the love that Jesus has for each one of us that He puts His confidence in us.  Thank You, Lord!

God Always Leads Us Triumphantly in Christ

 “I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: Upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭144‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David sang this song as he came to face Goliath the giant.  “My God, I will sing You a brand-new song! The harp inside my heart will make music to You! I will sing of You, the One Who gives victory to kings— the One Who rescues David, Your loving servant, from the fatal sword. Deliver me and save me from these dark powers who speak nothing but lies. Their words are pure deceit, and you can’t trust anything they say.”  David had such confidence in God because of his relationship with Him and He remembered God’s deliverance with a thankful heart and declared it.  In the new covenant, the Lord Jesus has told us to be of good cheer because He has conquered through the Cross the evil that besets us and now thanks be to God, He always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  This is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.  Thanks be to God, Who always gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s defeat every evil giant in our life.  Hallelujah!

Following Christ & Joining Him

 “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark recorded, “As He walked along, He found Levi, the son of Alphæus, sitting at a tax booth, collecting taxes. He approached him and said, “Come follow Me.”  Immediately he got up from his booth and began to follow Jesus.”  The name Levi means “joined”, “united” and Levi is the same person as Matthew, who wrote the Gospel bearing his name.  Alphæus means “changing”.  It is obvious that Matthew’s allegiance is changing from being a servant of Rome to being joined to Jesus as His future apostle.  Jesus came that we will change from being servants of sin to becoming children of God in the new life His death, burial and resurrection brought us and thus being joined to Him.  When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father.  Those who are joined to the Lord are one spirit with Him.  This was Matthew’s destiny and so it is of all who choose to follow Christ.  Amen!

Christ’s Will be Done

 “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: For thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭143‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David wrote this psalm when his son Absalom chased him after usurping his throne.  “Save me from all my enemies, for I hide myself in You. I just want to obey all You ask of me. So teach me, Lord, for You are my God. Your gracious Spirit is all I need, so lead me on good paths that are pleasing to You, my One and Only God! Lord, if You rescue me, it will bring You more glory, for You are true to Your promises. Bring me out of these troubles!”  We live in an age where the younger generation is impatient with the older generation and honour and care for parents and the elderly is a forgotten value.  However, it is as old as Scripture when David’s son Absalom was impatient and usurped his father’s throne.  Absalom’s end was quite sad and so it is with those who dishonour their parents and disregard their elderly.  David, nevertheless, turned to the LORD and trusted Him to rescue him.  Because of David’s faith in God, his prayer was answered.  In the new covenant and because of Christ’s finished work on the Cross, we have God’s faith in us to believe in all His promises.  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.  I live by Christ’s faith, not mine.  Amen!

Through Faith We have Resurrection & Holy Spirit Power

 “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Mark a spiritual son of Peter the apostle, wrote this Gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  “The moment Jesus rose up out of the water, John saw the heavenly realm split open, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. At the same time, a voice spoke from heaven, saying: “You are My Son, My cherished One, and My greatest delight is in You!” Immediately after this He was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go into an uninhabited desert region.”  The Lord Jesus was buried in baptism, symbolically into death (the Jordan) so that He might minister not in the natural way of men, but in the way of resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The dove, an emblem of the Holy Spirit, pictures both meekness and purity.  The implication is that the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and never left Him.  David had prophesied of the Messiah, ““I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”  God is affirming it now as the Lord Jesus came up out of the waters of Jordan.  Then, the mighty Holy Spirit compelled the Lord Jesus to go into the desert wilderness for forty days, just as Moses, David, Elijah had done before - the great champions of Israel’s history.  The Lord Jesus is our example to face the trials and testings of our life in the resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

Being in Christ is Being Beloved

 “I cried unto the LORD with my voice; With my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭142‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David prayed this psalm from hiding in the cave, “God, I’m crying out to You! I lift up my voice boldly to beg for Your mercy. I spill out my heart to You and tell You all my troubles.”  David knew this secret of focusing on Yahweh in the midst of being overwhelmed by his troubles.  He was confident that when he came to God for mercy he would receive it.  David means “beloved” and he had that intimacy with Yahweh where he knew that his requests to God would be answered and dealt with.  The Son of David, our Lord Jesus, was transfigured on the mount and there was a cloud that overshadowed Him with Peter, James & John; and a Voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Beloved Son: hear Him.”  The Son of the beloved is the Beloved Son of God, Who through His shed Blood has made a way for all mankind to have an intimate relationship and has called them beloved.  He has sent us His Holy Spirit Who comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  God hears and answers us even today and calls us beloved because we are in Christ, the Beloved Son of God.  Amen!

Obedience Precedes Authority in Christ

 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Matthew recorded, Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to Me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I Am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”  There is this sentence missing but is there in the Aramaic, “As My Father has sent Me, so I send you.”  Jesus showed by example that authority is preceded by obedience from a free will.  God never compelled Adam and Eve to obey when the snake deceived them.  But they lost the righteousness, authority and dominion God had given them.  It took Jesus’s obedience to God by dying on the Cross for mankind’s disobedience to restore that righteousness, authority and dominion back to us.  Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell everyone everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His Name.  Let’s know our authority in Christ by obeying Him, and bringing glory to His Name.  Amen!

Humbly Take Correction & Pray for Them

 “Let the righteous smite me; It shall be a kindness: And let him reprove me; It shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, They shall hear my words; for they are sweet.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭141‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David wrote this poetic psalm, “When one of your godly ones corrects me or one of your faithful ones rebukes me, I will accept it like an honor I cannot refuse. It will be as healing medicine that I swallow without an offended heart. Even if they are mistaken, I will continue to pray. When the leaders and judges are condemned, falling upon the rocks of justice, then they’ll know my words to them were true!”  This was David, the king of Israel, willing to take correction without taking offence.  But the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, took our punishment on the Cross so that by faith we would be set free.  He did this with joy in His heart, knowing that His creation - all of mankind - would be liberated.  After His resurrection, He sent His Holy Spirit, to convict us and make us more like our Lord Jesus.  The Holy Spirit, through the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, equips all believers for works of service, to build the Body of Christ, the Church.  Together, these ministries help in growth and maturity so that every member of the Body of Christ discovers and operates in their own God-given gifts by working in harmony and unity to help the Church fulfil its mission and become more like Christ.  Let’s be humble to take correction and pray for others even when they’re wrong or unkind, just as David did.  Amen!

God the Saviour Bled to Death for You

 “and set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Matthew wrote the Gospel in Hebrew but Hebrew ceased to be the spoken language of the Jews on their return from exile in Babylon around 450 BC. “Above His head they placed a sign that read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of Israel.” Two criminals were also crucified with Jesus, one on each side of Him.”  This sign was written in Aramaic (the language of the common people), Latin (the official language of the Roman Empire), and in Greek (the language of the visiting Alexandrian Jews).  The first letter of each of the four words written were Y-H-W-H (Y’shua Hanozri Wumelech a Yehudim).  To write these letters YHWH (also known as the Tetragrammaton), was the Hebrew form of writing the sacred Name “Yahweh”.  No wonder the chief priests were so offended by this sign and insisted that Pilate change it.  This was a sign given to Israel, for over Jesus’s head on the Cross was written “Y-H-W-H!  God the Saviour bled to death for you.”  The prophet had said, “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”  That’s our God Who bled to death for us who were transgressors and set us free, dead to sin and alive to righteousness.  Amen!